A Conversation With Ed

How did you get started in photography?

It’s a long way from my childhood, to shooting weddings in San Diego. It all began with a Kodak Instamatic camera my parents gave me for Christmas when I was 6. I began taking photos everywhere I went. I loved the process of taking the photo, then waiting to get the film processed, then finally seeing the results. The anticipation was exciting!

Later on, one of my uncle’s gave me a “real” camera. Today, most people wouldn’t consider it real. It had no automatic settings so you had to set everything manually, and it didn’t even have a meter in the camera! I had to use a separate light meter to figure out the settings, but over time I was able to judge (with fairly good success) what settings to use.

So where did wedding photography enter in?

In high school, I’d been given a better camera (still all manual, but it had a meter!). I’d also bought an enlarger and the equipment to develop my own photos. I used to spend hours getting our home bathroom light proof so I could develop and print my photos.

So the people in my life knew that I was “into” photography. When I was 16, one of my friend’s sisters was getting married. I was over his house one day and someone asked her about a wedding photographer. She replied, “Ed’s going to take my wedding photos.” I was in shock, but I agreed to it. I’d be embarrassed to show the results now, but it got me started in something that continues to this day.

How would you describe your style?

Whatever the situation, my goal is to take a photo with impact.

I’m primarily a documentary shooter, a photojournalist at a wedding. I believe that it’s important to capture what is, rather than trying to create something artificial. Reality over fantasy. There is enough emotion, enough powerful moments, in each wedding day, that you don’t have to create something else that’s “better.” It’s all right there. The challenge is to capture it. It requires constant attention, constant seeing, and then capturing what you see creatively.

I’d also say that I’m unobtrusive. I’ve gotten to where unobtrusive means the comfort my clients feel with me that allows them to relax in front of the camera, in front of me, as I shoot.

But impact…IMPACT! Lol

How Did You Come To Shooting Weddings In Southern California?

We, (my wife Rose and I), began our wedding photography business in New England in 2004. We were based in Massachusetts, and enjoyed shooting weddings from Maine to Long Island New York. Now that we’ve moved to San Diego, we are excited to be accepting bookings here in Southern California, from San Diego to Los Angeles, and beyond.